Publication: External Quality Assessment Practices in Clinical Biochemistry Laboratory: What is the need ?
Date
2020
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kathmandu University
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Health Care services is considered as an amalgamation between the doctor
undergoing the examination and laboratory personnel behind the proper diagnosis
of the patient. It has evolved to a large extent from a simple process of examination
to handling the prescription to the patient. During this evolution, there has been
a remarkable development in the field of laboratory diagnosis. A good laboratory
is abided by the rule of quality services including quality control; both internal
and external. External quality assessment program contributes to the long term
accuracy of the analytical method used by the laboratory. It determines the number
of quality element of the practicing laboratory and helps in the upliftment of the
status of the laboratory to laboratory accreditation and certification. This review
article is intended to review the importance of the external quality assessment
program over internalquality control, its need in the laboratory and the current
practices in externalquality assessment. Medline search was done for the articles
published in English language from 1945 to 2018. Keywords employed to search the
articles were external quality assessment, EQA programs, quality assurance, and
quality control in clinical biochemistry, respectively. We searched for any articles
with the details of external quality assessment tools that were original articles,
review, editorial and the official website of the EQAS program. The unavailable
articles were searched through research gate and the authors were requested for
full text. A total of 5 full text original research article were found and rest of the
articles like review article, editorial, national policy were studied in detail. Standard
textbooks for clinical chemistry and chapters for EQA under quality assurance was
reread in detail. Studies and policy makers have depicted that External Quality
Assessment scheme (EQAS) as an integral component for the efficient and high
quality laboratory operation. The western countries haizve their own laboratory
accreditation body which conducts the EQAS program and offers participation
to other clinical laboratories. Countries in South East Asia have shown to be
burgeoning in the field of EQA program with establishment of their own laboratory
accreditation bodies and incorporating the non-accredited laboratories in EQA
programs.
KEY WORDS
External quality assessment programs, Quality assurance, Quality control in clinical
biochemistry, Quality Improvement
Description
Niraula A,1 Bataju M2
1Department of Biochemistry,
BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences,
Dharan, Nepal.
2Department of Biochemistry,
KIST Medical College and Teaching Hospital,
Lalitpur, Nepal
Keywords
External quality assessment programs, Quality assurance, Quality control in clinical biochemistry, Quality Improvement